Cross-slide knurling or like tool



Jan. 27, 1959 J.- E. POORMAN ,87

CROSS-SLIDE KNURLING OR LIKE. TOOL I Filed March 19,' 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m x b 1 INVENTOR chi/7271 06227220.

Jan. 27, 1959 J. POORMAN 0,

CROSS-SLIDE KNURLING OR LI'KE TOOL Filed March 19, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 14 IN VEN TOR Q/ofizzl? Boa/722a,

CROSS-SLIDE KNURIJINGPORLIKE TOOL John E.-Po orman, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to vLE. Poorman, Inc Philadelphia, Pa.

ApplicationMar'ch 19, "1956, SerialNo. 572,286

,6 Claims. (Cl. .80--'5.1)

This inventionrelates ,to knurling or like tools and more particularly to ,such tools that are adapted ,for use on a cross-slide of a latheor like machines and especially with automatic multispindle machines.

It has heretofore been proposed toprovide a knurling or like tool for working .the cylindrical surfaces of .a work piece and which ,tool comprises apair ofpivotally supported arms each carryinga tool or knurling wheel. For the most part, these tools have been capable of use onlywith single, spindle lathcs and have notbeen adapted for use on cross-slides in whichtheftool is reciprocated 'to andfrom the work. As aresult, the knurling or tool wheels have not been properly centralized so thatthey are capable of use on cross-slides and particularly-with automatic and multispiudle machines. tools have largely involved manually positioningof the knu'rling wheels relative to the work.

Having'in mind the defects of the priorart devices, it is the principal object ofthepresent'invention tojprovide a knurling or like tool-adapted'for useon cross-slides.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a knurling or like tool adapted foruse with automatic multispi'ndle machines.

It is still another object of theinvention to provide a.knurling or like tool having a pair of movablysupported knurling or tool wheels which are capable of self-centering with respect to the work.

It is a further object of the'invention to provide a knurling or like'tool having a pair of movably supported knurling or tool wheels and including means for equalizing the pressure on the wheels onthe work surfaces.

his a still further object of the invention to provide a knurling or like'tool having simplicity of design, economy of construction and efiiciency inoperation.

Briefly, a knurling or liketool in accordance with the present invention comprises a stock adapted for mounting upon a cross-slide of a'latheonlike machine and having an upstanding support at one end and on which are pivoted a pair of'levers, one above'the other, and preferably intermediate'the length'thereof. Each of the levers at their outer end ro-tatably supports a knurling or tool wheel and spaced from the wheel, preferably at its inner end, one of the levers, normally the upper-lever, is provided with an'internallythreaded'bore carrying an adjustment screw adapted for engagement withthe other of 'the'levers'to-center' the knurling or toolwheels relative-tothe work and'to equalize the pressure of-the wheels on-the work. Each ofthe levers preferably is bifurcated atits outerend to accommodatethe knurling wheel'and-the furcations'or arms extend laterally and engagethe-forward-surface of the stock support to positicn the wheels in proper work engaging relation when the tool is out of engagerrientwiththe work and also to assure properabutrnentbetween the adjustment screw and the companion lever.

The novel featuresthatare considered characteristic of'the invention'are set forthwith particularity in the appended claims. The'invention itself, however both These prior art ited States Patent .as toits organization and.its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best-be understood from the following description of .a' specific. embodiment when read in connection with .the accompanying'drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like .parts throughoutthe several figures and in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view in, elevation of a multispindle machine l'showin'g the relative relationship between a tool supported on a cross-slide and the spindle carrying turret of an'automatic multispindle machine;

Fig. 2 is aside view in elevation of a knurling tool in accordance withthepresent invention and showing knurling wheels at their minimum spacing, aportion of the tool holder beingfbroke'n away to clarify the dislo u e;

' ,Fig. 3 is atopplan "view of the tool shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side view in elevation showing the tool of the present invention with the knurling wheels operatively (positioned, and at ,m j irnum spacing;

Fig. 5 is aside ,view in elevation'of the tool with the knurling wheel carriers 'at an intermediate adjustment and in retractedor relaxed position out of engagement with the work, and

Fig. 6 is a side view'in elevation of the tool adjusted ass'how'n in Fig. 5 but advanced to operative position with the kHHIl lg Wheels in en'gagement with the work andwillustratingthe manner in which the knurling wheels are self-centeringrelative to the work.

Referring to the drawings in detail, specifically to Fig. 1, a tool according tothe present invention is specifically adapted for ,use on an automatic multiflspindlernachine of wellknown type and which includes a'turret T usually rotatable on a horizontal axis A and carrying a plurality of spindles S each adapted to rotatably support a work pieceW. Adjacent the turret T andmore or less radiallytherefrorn are positioned one (or morecross-slides' CS each supporting a reciprocal carjriage C adapted to support a tool X. It is common practice to have a, plurality of the cross-slides CS arranged so thatdifier'ent' kinds "of tools X can simultaneously op- .erate on different work pieces W.

In operatiomthe turret Tis indexed by a step-by-step movement to successively Ipresent different work pieces 'W to the tools X, the tools being retracted on the car-- jriages'C from the workpieces during the indexing movement'of 'theturret'T andthen advanced into engagement with the work pieces W when the indexing movement of "the turret :T is stopped. "From the foregoing description, it Will be aparent' that any tool comprising movably supported tool rollers or wheels, such as knurling wheels, for engagement with and working on the workpieces must be capable of self-centering with respect to the work pieces when the carriages are advanced toward the spindles so as to engage the tool wheels with the work pieces.

A'tool in accordance with'the present invention and embodying the'foregoing concept, as best shown in Figs. '2 and 3, comprises a stock'1'0 "having slots 12'vertically therethroughi fer the passage of bolts for adjustablyposi- 'tioning-the stock on 'a cross-slide carriage. The stock 10 is provided at its rear end with a plurality of threaded bores 14 for receivingueer "more adjustment screws -16-for abutting'the-carriage, anda set screw 18 perpendicular to andengageable-with the adjustment screw 16 for locking the latter in adjusted position. At its forward-end, the stock 10 15 provided with an upstanding support preferably in the form of a pair of parallel spaced ears 20'having front abutment surfaces 22- The ears 20 are each providediwith vertically spaced and axially aligned bores 01"?11361111163'24 and 26 for receiving crosspins 28 a'nd30, respectively, these cross-pins preferably being removably retained in 32 through each end thereof.

A pair of levers 34 and 36 are provided, preferably intermediate their lengths, with transverse bores 88 by means of which they are respectively journaled on the cross-pins 28 and 30 between the ears 20. At their forward ends, the levers 34 and 36 extend beyond the abutment faces 22 of the ears and at these ends, the levers preferably are bifurcated to. provide each of the levers with a pair of spaced arms 38 which have cylindrical bores 40 therethrough with the bores of each pair of arms in axial alignment. A cross-pin 42 is mounted in the bores 40 of each pair of arms 38 and preferably is removably retained in position by suitable fasteners such as cotter pins 44 through each end thereof. A tool wheel An important characteristic of the invention resides,

the ears, as by cotter pins in the provision of abutment means for limiting the swingabutmentsmay be constituted by the arms 38 which extend laterally beyond the sides of therlevers 34 and 36 with the rear ends 48 of the arms extending inconfronting relation to the abutment surfaces 22 of the ears 20. The rear ends 48, in side elevation, are preferably- V-shaped, the longer side50 of the V providing clearance for swinging of the tool wheels from each other and the apex 52 forming an abutment for engagement with the surfaces 22 of the ears 20.

At its opposite or rear end, 'the upper lever 36 is provided with a threaded bore 54 extending therethrough' from top to bottom and in which is threaded an adjustment screw 56 having a rounded lower abutment end 58 for engaging and bearing upon an upper abutment surface 60 on the rear end' of the lower lever. 34. On its underside, the lower lever 34 is provided with a lower abutment preferably constituted by the lower rear corner.

62, and an intermediate abutment surface 64 midway of its length. Between the ears 20, the stock 10 is provided with an abutment, preferably constituted by a recess 66 which at. its forward portion has an inclined abutment surface 68 sloping downwardly to the front of the stock for cooperation with the intermediate abutment 64, and a substantially horizontal surface 70 for cooperation with the lower abutment 62. a r a 7 7 In operation, when the tool is advanced into engagement with the work W, the upper tool wheel 46 engages the work and is swung. upwardly thereby, whereupon the abutment end 58 of the adjustment screw 56 abuts. the

upper abutment 60 of the lower lever 34' and swings the lever 34 to bring the lower tool wheel 46 up into engagement with the work with the two wheel axes disposed in a substantially vertical plane and equispaced above and below the center-plane CP which passes diametrically through the axis of the work. By this arrangement, the tool wheels 46 always engage the work uniformly and apply an equal pressure thereon regardless of the spacing of said tool wheels 46 as regulated by the adjustment screw 56.

The foregoing function is illustrated more clearly in Figs. 2 and 4 wherein it will be seen in Fig. 2 that the screw 56 is adjusted practically to its maximum length' through the bore 54 and toward the lower lever 34 so that the tool wheels 46 are closely juxtaposed immediately above and below the center-plane CP. In contrast, in Fig. 4, the screw 56 is retracted through the bore 54 to practically its minimum length toward the lower lever 34 so that the wheels 46 are widely spaced but are still 'equidistance above and below the center-plane I These the lower lever 34 and thereby swings the lever 34 to bring two figures illustrate the tool wheels 46 in their minimum and maximum operational spacing.

It will be noted in Fig. 2 that the rear abutment 62 of the lower lever 34 is engaged with the horizontal abutment surface 70 of the stock recess 66 to limit the upward movement of the lower tool wheel 46 so that this wheel cannot pass upward beyond the center-plane CP. The apex 52 of the rear ends of the arms 38 of the lower lever may or need not simultaneously engage the front surfaces 22 of the ears 20.7 In contrast, as shown in Fig. 4, the intermediate abutment 64 of the lever 34 is resting on'the inclined surface 68 of the stock recess 66 to limit the lower movement of the lower tool wheel 46 and elevate theupper abutment surface of the lever 34 for engagement with the abutment end 58 of the adjustment screw 56 to thereby limit the elevation of the upper tool wheel 46 so as to apply an equal pressure to the work W by both of said wheels.

More importantly, and a critical'part of the invention, resides in the fact that the upper lever 36 is also arranged so that its tool wheel 46 cannot pass below the center-plane CP and this is accomplished by the arrangement of the abutment surfaces or apexes 52 on the rear ends 48 of the arms 38 in cooperation with the abultment surfaces 22 on the forward edges of the ears 20. Thus, the upper tool wheel 46 cannot gravitate or swing below the center-plane CP which would foul the work when'the tool is advanced on a cross-slide. Moreover, neither of the tool wheels can pass beyond their respective sides of the center-plane CP and, therefore, cannot abut or foul each other. l

The foregoing arrangement is best illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 wherein the adjustment screw 56 is shown in an intermediate position and the tool is shown in Fig. 5 in a retracted position with the levers 34 and 36 gravitated to their lower positions, while in Fig.6, the tool is shown r in advanced position with the tool wheels 46 in engagement with the work W. Referring to Fig. 5, it will be seen that the weight of the wheels 46 and forward ends of the levers has swung the lower lever 34 downwardly until its intermediate abutment'64 has engaged the inclined surface 36 of the stock 10 while the upper lever 36 has gravitated downwardly until the abutment 52 has engaged the abutment surfaces 22 of the" cars 20. In this position, the abutment end 58 of the screw 56 is elevated above the upper abutment surface 60 of the lower lever 34 but the upper tool wheel 46 is disposed above the center-planeCP.

Upon advancement of the tool into engagement with the work W, as shown in Fig. 6,the upper tool wheel 46 engages the work W and thereby swings the lever 36 upwardly until the abutment end 58 of the screw 56 bears on the abutment 60 anddepre sses the rear end of the lower tool wheel 46 upwardly into engagement with the work W, the screw 56 maintaining the levers 34 and the work and are capable of retraction and advancement from and toward the work in automatic machines.

Although a certain specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it is obvious that many' modifications thereof are possible. 'The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

That which is claimed asnew is:

l. A knurling or like tool of the type having a pair of movably supported tool wheels such as knurling wheels, comprising a rigid stock for mounting on a machine, a pair of pivots .carried by said stock in fixed spaced relation 9 #1393 9 the other and having substantially parallel axes, a lever pivotally supported intermediateits ends by each of said pivots, a tool wheel journaled on the correspending end of each of said levers, abutment means on the upper of said levers and engageable with said stock to limit gravitation of the tool wheel carried thereby to prevent movement of said tool wheel below a centerplane perpendicularly intersecting midway between said axes a plane common to said axes, and mutually cooperative adjustable abutment means carried by said levers on the ends'opposite said wheels for swinging the lower of said levers to elevate its tool wheel and equalize the spacing of said wheels relative to said center-plane when said wheels engage a workpiece, said mutually cooperative adjustable abutment including an abutment surface on one of said levers and an abutment screw carried by the other of said levers and engageable with said abutment surface.

2. A tool as set forth in claim 1 comprising abutment means on the lower of said levers and cooperative with said stock to limit upward movement of the lower tool wheeland prevent passage of said wheel beyond said center-plane.

3. A tool as set forth in claim 2 comprising abutment means on said lower lever and stock for limiting swinging of said lever and prevent passage of said abutment surface beyond mutually engageable relation with said abutment screw.

4. A knurling or like tool of the type having a pair of movably supported .tool wheel's such as knurling wheels, comprising a stock for mounting on the crossslide of a machine, an upstanding support at one end of said stock and rigid therewith, a pair of pivots carried by said support in substantially vertically spaced relation and having substantially parallel axes, a lever pivotally supported intermediate its ends by each of said pivots, a tool wheel journaled on each of said levers at the corresponding ends of said levers and beyond said stock and support, an abutment surface on said support, an abutment on the upper of said levers and engageable with said abutment surface to prevent gravitation of the tool wheel carried by said upper lever below the center-plane perpendicularly intersecting midway between said pivot axes a plane common to said axes, said tool wheels being journaled on substantially parallel axes which are spaced substantially equidistant from their respective pivot axes, and mutually cooperative adjustable abutment means on the ends of said levers opposite said tool wheels for maintaining said wheels equidistant from said centerplane when they are in operative position in engagement with a workpiece, said mutually cooperative adjustable abutment means including an abutment surface on the upper side of the lower lever and an abutment screw threaded through said upper lever and engageable With said abutment surface.

5. A knurling or like tool of the type having .a pair of movably supported tool wheels such as knurling wheels, comprising a stock for mounting on the cross-slide of a machine, a pair of upstanding ears at one end of said stock, a pair of vertically spaced bores in each of said ears with the corresponding bores in said ears being axilally aligned on substantially parallel axes, a cross-pin mounted in each pair of corresponding bores and spanning said ears, means removably retaining said cross-pins in said ears, a lever journaled intermediate its ends on each of said cross-pins with corresponding ends of said levers extending beyond said ears and overlying said stock respectively, the forward ends of said levers beyond said ears being bifurcated and having a pair of laterally spaced parallel arms, each of said pair of arms having axially aligned bores therethrough with the axes of each pair of arm bores parallel to each other and the lever journal axes and equispaced from their respective lever journal axes, cross-pins mounted in said arm bores and respectively spanning each pair of arms, means removably retaining said cross-pins in the respective pair of arms, a tool wheel pivotally supported by each cross-pin between the respective pair of arms, the upper lever having an internally threaded bore at its rear end with said bore opening through the upper and lower surfaces of said lever, an adjustment screw threaded in said bore and having a lower abutment end, the lower lever having at its rear end an upper abutment surface and a lower abutment surface and midway of its length on its lower side an intermediate abutment surface, said upper abutment surface cooperating with the abutment end of said screw to maintain said tool wheels, when in operative position, equispaced from a center-plane perpendicularly intersecting midway between the lever journal axes a plane common to said axes, said stock having an abutment portion between said ears and including a horizontal portion spaced from the forward end thereof and an inclined portion sloping downwardly from said horizontal portion to the front of said ears, said horizontal portion cooperating with the lower abutment surface of said lower lever to prevent swinging of the lower tool wheel above said center-plane, said inclined portion cooperating with said intermediate abutment surface to prevent swinging of said upper abutment surface beyond the path of the abutment end of said screw, said pairs of arms extending laterally beyond the sides of said levers with the rear ends of said arms extending laterally and confronting said ears, said arm rear ends including recessed portions to avoid engagement with said ears and permit swinging of said tool wheels from said centerplane and abutment portions engageable with said ears to prevent movement of said tool wheels beyond their respective sides of said center-plane.

6. A knurling or like tool of the type having a pair of movably supported tool wheels such as knurling wheels and especially adapted for use on cross-slides of auto matic multispindle tool machines, comprising a pair of levers, a tool wheel journaled on one end of each of said levers, mutually engageable rigid abutment means on the opposite ends of said levers, the abutment means on one of said levers being adjustable, a rigid stock for mounting on a machine, means pivotally mounting said levers intermediate their ends one above the other on .said stock for pivotal movement about substantially parallel horizontal axes which are in fixed relation relative to each other and to said stock with said abutment means of said levers mutually cooperative upon mutual engagement to maintain said tool wheels equispaced on opposite sides of a center-plane perpendicularly intersecting midway between said axes a plane common to said axes when said tool wheels are in engagement with a workpiece, and abutment means on the upper of said levers and engageable with said stock to limit gravitation of the tool wheel carried thereby to prevent movement of said tool wheel below said center-plane to preclude fouling a workpiece upon engagement by said tool wheels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATIENTS 632,358 Miller Sept. 5, 1899 1,044,006 Boche Nov. 12, 1912 1,112,662 Schley Oct. 6, 1914 2,294,685 Nelson Sept. 1, 1942 2,546,058 Boulet Mar. 20, 1951 2,711,131 Smith June 21, 1955 2,771,807 Trinkle Nov. 27, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 7 480,973 Canada Feb. 12, 1952 

